


Happy Family

by happilyappled



Category: Bandom, My Chemical Romance
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Puppies, grumpy!Gerard, whiny!Frank
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-26
Updated: 2012-11-26
Packaged: 2017-11-19 14:47:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/574425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/happilyappled/pseuds/happilyappled
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Frank is in love with his puppies and it's fucking adorable.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Happy Family

**Author's Note:**

> Dedicated to Coco and Janice <3
> 
> [Click here](http://www.mediafire.com/download/qcbpjltbl7822ig) to download the story in PDF format :)

_October 31, 2011_

Gerard is shivering badly when he gets home and he sets the thermostat up to 80 degrees because it’s really fucking cold out there. Walking home from work isn’t something he appreciates during the winter, but Frank has taken the car to check on Gerard’s mother, who has fallen sick recently, and Gerard had some work to finish. He could have come along and they could have stayed for dinner, but today he wants to be alone with Frank.

There is something he’s expecting before Frank gets home, so he made Frank take their car because there’s no way he’d let Frank walk in this cold. Frank gets sick really easily and every time he does it gets really bad, so Gerard looks out for him as much as he can. Even if he has to bundle Frank up in a woolen sweater, a jacket and a scarf.

He barely makes it out of the bathroom when a car pulls up to their driveway and horns. Gerard is glad it’s not Frank yet and opens the door with a big grin, greeting his brother and letting him in. They speak for a while, Gerard thanking him for doing this in order to surprise Frank today for his twenty-third birthday. This is very exciting as Frank is now only minutes away from seeing the perfect gift that Gerard got him. He checks it out with Mikey one last time and smiles proudly at his brother, who actually rolls his eyes and reminds Gerard how hopelessly in love he is for a man who’s twenty-five years younger than him and so much livelier.

Then a horn sounds and Gerard sends Mikey out immediately, grinning at his brother. Mikey barely rolls his eyes again and wishes Gerard good luck, but Gerard doesn’t understand how he’d be unlucky when he lives with Frank.

Soon, Gerard gets to welcome Frank with a warm kiss on the mouth, even though Frank spent the whole day sneezing and that’s always a sign that he’s getting sick. Gerard takes the cake carrier that Frank is holding in his hands and it smells delicious. Frank says, “Your mom made me a cake. She’s feeling a lot better now, thankfully.”

“I’m glad she is. Did you tell her why I couldn’t come?” Gerard asks and waits for Frank’s confirmation, before he carries the cake to the kitchen. He moves slowly, paying no attention to the large box on the floor. He peeks into the carrier in his hands and sees that, of course, his mother made a pumpkin cake, Frank’s absolute favorite. His birthday being on Halloween has a lot to do with it, even though they don’t usually have a big celebration. He leaves it on the kitchen table for now and turns back to the foyer, standing by the doorway to see Frank coming closer.

“I can’t wait for dessert,” he’s saying in a truly excited tone. Frank is like a kid when it comes to pumpkin cake and it’s so cute that he expresses it every chance he gets. Gerard loves all these young, fascinating traits in Frank and how they’ve been teaching him to be young at heart all over again.

“Me neither, but I’m not talking about the cake,” he jokes with a grin and Frank responds in the same way, adding one of his trademark giggles. He’s adorable. Gerard just wants to wrap him up and keep him away from everyone else.

Frank approaches him and kisses his mouth softly, and he feels warm and gentle as usual. When he stops, it’s to the sound that comes from the box right beside them. Gerard didn’t just stand there for no reason and he grins widely at Frank because he can’t resist teasing Frank. Frank’s going to love it. “What’s this?”

“I got something for you. It’s in the box, open it,” Gerard tells him, never losing the grin. Frank doesn’t look up again, his attention entirely on the box; he squats by the box as it makes another noise and there’s _something_ scratching it from inside, and Gerard’s heart starts beating fast. He _knows_ Frank will love this… love them. Frank’s squeal only proves it as soon as he pulls one of the lids aside and sees what’s in the box.

“Oh my god, G! Are they for real?” His voice is high pitched and excited, and Gerard beams down affectionately at Frank even though he’s not looking up. He picks up the two puppies Gerard brought in from the kennel yesterday and left at his brother’s place overnight.

Gerard chose the cutest, tiniest ones for Frank to fall in love with and especially cuddle with during the winter, but given Frank’s big heart, he would probably love even the ugliest and most temperamental beast ever. Gerard remembers the day Frank told him about his passion for dogs. He had one as a kid, her name was Raisin or something equally weird, but she was old and, after her death, his family never had the chance to get another one. They were really poor, barely had money to eat and, when his parents died, Frank entered the adoption program and never had a dog again. So lately Gerard had been thinking a lot about doing this and today he has the perfect reason to give them to Frank. He got gorgeous mixed breeds from the kennel and they’re absolutely adorable, with tiny jaws and paws, floppy ears and really expressive eyes.

Frank is holding each dog in one hand, clutching them against his chest, nuzzling them with his face. He only looks up when Gerard twirls the red ribbons around the dogs’ necks with his fingers, but Frank looks absolutely stunned and lets out a brilliant smile even as his eyes get a bit teary. “They’re fucking gorgeous, G. Thank you so much.”

“Happy birthday,” Gerard replies, touched by Frank’s reaction. He doesn’t get overly excited, doesn’t jump around, yell or anything, but Gerard knows exactly how he feels. He’s just too amazed to react properly, but sooner than later he’ll be all over the house laughing and playing around with the pups. For now, Gerard just pulls Frank into a lopsided hug, kissing his temple because he’s one tiny motherfucker that Gerard is very much in love with.

He caresses the puppies too, feeling their fur and smiling softly as Frank kisses the both of them and Gerard’s hand afterwards. The puppies look up too and the brown one whines while the white one stretches its neck to try to lick Frank’s face. That makes its leg slip down from Frank’s grasp, and he adjusts his hands to hold his little dogs better. He sounds amazing when he giggles next and when he coos at them some more, calling them his babies, and Gerard remembers, “What are you gonna name them?”

“I have no idea, but I have time to think about it. Right now I wanna cuddle with them on the couch. They’re so fucking cute. You wanna come?”

“I’m gonna heat up dinner, but I’ll meet you there afterwards.” Frank nods and turns around, heading towards the living room, cooing at the puppies again and giggling all the way to the couch.

Gerard watches him from the doorway, but he’s not even able to smile. He’s just overwhelmed, feeling deep in his gut that he made the right choice. Frank is still a diamond in the rough and every day, Gerard sees him growing more and more polished. Gerard gets polished along with him as well, and that’s the most powerful realization he’s ever had. Making Frank happy is only the beginning of it all and Gerard still can barely believe he’s been so lucky in life.

Finally smiling warmly to himself, Gerard goes to the kitchen. When the meal is in the oven, heating up at a low temperature so that they can spend some time together before eating, he goes back to the living room.

The television is on the music channel and Frank’s voice is singing along to a song about autumn love, the dogs yipping along. When Gerard looks over the back of the couch, he sees Frank kneeling on the carpet, playing with the two puppies. He has the brown one nibbling playfully on the tips of his fingers and the white pup crawling over him, trying to get under his sweater. It’s fucking adorable.

_Patch._

_November 6_

“Harder,” Frank mumbles, clawing at Gerard’s shoulders. Gerard is sitting down against the headboard of their bed, the cream sheets covering his legs while Frank covers his crotch, riding his cock softly. He starts moving faster, and Gerard knows he won’t last much longer. He’s gripping Frank’s ass firmly with one hand, caressing the soft skin up his sides with the other as Frank moves at his own rhythm.

“Frank, how do you–” Gerard tries to say, but the sensations are pooling low in his stomach and they’re very, deeply intense. He can’t ever get over how good it feels when he’s fucking Frank like this, and they always get emotionally involved. It’s so beautiful when he thinks about it, but he only resorts to his feelings right now as they’re raw and overwhelming. “How’d you do this to me?”

Frank just hums in response, though, riding Gerard’s cock with expertise and letting Gerard pull him close for a short kiss. Gerard bucks up his hips and there it is. Frank whimpers in that very special way, arching his back, eyebrows a little furrowed, and clawing at Gerard’s shoulders. And he’s so damn beautiful when he’s like this.

He’s always been a particular kind of beautiful, even when he looked so torn up the first time Gerard met him. He remembers it as though it happened last night and it used to break his heart just thinking of what got them together, but Gerard doesn’t really regret it. He’d do it all over again. He’d save Frank from his misery at the club as many times as need be. A man like Frank should have never had to go through that, to resort to such a means in order to survive in an already ruthless world that had taken his parents away. Gerard is aware that it probably wouldn’t have been much better if they were alive and he wouldn’t even have met Frank either, so in the end, everything turned out to be alright. This is the way he loves Frank, the broken sensitive man in his arms right now.

Gerard gets a good grip on his ass and turns them around expertly. Frank opens his hazel eyes and stares at Gerard, with his glassy orbs and sweaty eyelids, and he smiles at Gerard as he covers Frank’s body and falls in between his legs. Frank welcomes him with a tender kiss and both hands reaching out for Gerard’s back, and Gerard reciprocates by caressing his thighs and pressing his still hard cock against Frank’s middle.

“Come here, G,” Frank says, pulling him close and kissing his mouth again. Gerard doesn’t really prolong the kiss, but he makes out with Frank and rubs their crotches together until Frank moans.

“Where do you want me?” he whispers when he pulls back from the kiss. Frank only hums and wraps his legs around Gerard’s hips. Gerard fights with himself to tear his eyes away from Frank’s face, just for a moment, to focus on his cock, lining it up and pushing into Frank all in one go.

Gerard listens to Frank and drowns in his touch, grasping his pliant ass in return. He catches Frank’s mouth and loves Frank in the passionate way he deserves, showing him what he feels through his actions. They make Frank pant again and squirm, and Gerard is very close. His breath becomes labored and he has to break the kiss to pant against Frank’s mouth, until he hears Frank say, “Look at me.”

Gerard hadn’t even noticed where he was looking until he looks up, obedient. He finds the sultriest gaze in Frank’s eyes and his hips stutter. He can never resist the pleasure in Frank’s expression as it gets to him deep, and at last Gerard feels his stomach boiling as he spreads his palms on Frank’s thighs, feeling them up at the sides and squeezing them around himself. Frank caresses his neck and leaves tiny kisses on Gerard’s jaw, making him thrust harder but erratically.

And when Gerard finally breaks down, it’s to the feeling of Frank’s hand wrapping around his wrist. Gerard gets Frank’s hand and holds it on the pillow beneath Frank’s head, looking deep into Frank’s eyes again, and comes with a shudder. Frank whispers dirty nothings in his ear while Gerard pants and lies on top of him, still inside him, covering Frank with his body. He moves his own hand to grasp Frank’s cock and make him come next, and the way Frank holds Gerard and moans through his pleasure is quite unique.

It has been a long time since Gerard lay with Frank merely for his body. The first time was a blur and they barely even talked in the club’s private room, and the second time was no better than a mere accident at the end of a really bad day for both of them, but then things started to change. Gerard became a client, then an exclusive and, months later, he was so much more than just a good lay. And Frank stopped being another guy working at the club when Gerard formally asked him into his life.

“I love you,” Gerard says to Frank with as much feeling as he can gather. Frank only smiles and says it back, pushing Gerard until he pulls out and lies beside him on the mattress.

Afterwards, all cleaned up, Gerard returns from the en-suite bathroom and gets into bed again, shivering because it’s a cold November night and he’s only wearing underwear. When he lies down next to Frank, it’s warm and inviting. Frank complains and giggles when Gerard touches him to steal his warmth, but they just snuggle under the covers, just the two of them all over again. Gerard gets one, two kisses in, then a giggle from Frank when Gerard touches his side because he’s so ticklish, and they finally settle in to sleep. As usual, Gerard hums a tune to an always quiet Frank, and then it starts.

Gerard doesn’t say anything about it, he just lets it be, lets the dogs scratch at the bedroom door and whine for as long as they want. No matter how annoying it can be, Gerard isn’t going to give in to the sound of two puppies crying outside the room. It’s time they start learning that they can’t sleep on the bed. It’s only been a week since Gerard got them, but he doesn’t want the dogs to get used to a lifestyle they can’t have. Frank, however, lifts his head from the pillow and looks at the door, then turns to Gerard with his own puppy dog eyes.

“No,” it’s all Gerard says. He knows exactly what Frank wants, as he is so in love with the animals, but thankfully Frank huffs and lies back down. Gerard clears his throat and resumes his humming, trying to ignore the loud whining and the scratching that must be smothering the door with claw marks.

He tries to fall asleep by closing his eyes and imagining a quiet night, with the dogs sleeping peacefully and on their own in the _living room_. He focuses on calm breathing exercises and on Frank’s shape next to him, but then Frank doesn’t really stay still and it’s completely disturbing. Gerard knows what this means, though; he knows exactly what Frank wants him to do.

It’s all about the dogs, but Gerard is only trying to train them. He doesn’t want them sleeping here – not that they’d take much space, but it’s not really hygienic. Frank _always_ wants to get them into the room, and has done so every night, sleeping with the dogs curled up against him, either against his chest or around his arm. It definitely needs to stop and it might as well be today. The crying never stops, though, and Gerard thinks it gets even louder, and then Frank says quietly, “They’re lonely, Gerard.”

Gerard rolls his eyes and looks at Frank, defiantly. “No, they’re spoiled, and you know exactly why. They can’t sleep in here, Frank. Period.”

“Can you sleep with their crying, though? Because I can’t.” Frank’s voice is a cry itself, but that only makes Gerard shake his head. He won’t give in again, or Frank will always do what he wants of Gerard.

“They’ll stop if you stop bringing them here.” Frank huffs again and groans, but Gerard ignores him.

“They don’t even bother you,” Frank says, sounding upset. “They always sleep on my side, so I don’t get why you’re annoyed about it.”

Gerard tries his best not to laugh at Frank’s demeanor when he rolls to the other side, facing away from Gerard. Frank has always been a sensitive guy, which is very cute, and being over twenty-five years younger than Gerard only intensifies that, but Gerard can resist him. He can not give in to Frank’s will, even when he’s like this. For now, he just turns to lie on his side and presses close to Frank’s backside, saying, “You know my opinion on this. It’s just not–”

“Not hygienic.” Frank sounds like he’s mocking Gerard, as he’s said this time and time again regarding this situation, but he doesn’t care to be bothered. He knows Frank just wants the puppies to stop whining, and Gerard wants it too of course, but not through the same method as Frank. But it’s not really a surprise that, when the crying gets a little louder and the scratching a bit more frantic, Frank pulls the bedding aside and gets up. “I can’t listen to them like this, I’m sorry.”

“Frank! What are you–” Gerard tries to protest and stretches an arm to get a hold of Frank’s hand, but it’s useless. Frank just brushes it aside and stomps towards the door, cooing at the dogs as soon as he opens it. Gerard closes his eyes and relaxes since he won’t win this battle, but then he hears the door being closed and Frank’s still cooing, so he just says, “Letting them sleep here won’t help.”

“I don’t care,” Frank replies, and Gerard opens his eyes to see what he’s doing. The first thing he sees is a white, fluffy puppy jumping down from Frank’s grasp onto the bed and quickly running towards Gerard, but obviously he complains. “Don’t even think about it. _Frank_ , get this furry ball away from me. No, don’t lick my–”

It’s too late. Patch, the white mix Maltese puppy, is trying to lick Gerard’s face no matter how much Gerard keeps pushing him away, and Frank is a little bastard who’s not helping and keeps laughing instead. He says, “You see, G, they love you. And they’re thankful that you let them in.”

“I didn’t,” Gerard whines, holding Patch back by scruffing him from behind the head and wiping his face with the other hand. He barely sees the brown pup, a mix Beagle called Zink, wiggling his tail and attacking Gerard’s face as well. Gerard kind of wants to laugh along with Frank, but he really can’t. He’s not going down so easily, so he gets both puppies away from him and looks down at them with the sternest face he can muster. “I get you the fluffiest bed ever made and you’re not using it. The cushion is made of _velvet_. I’m sure it’s very warm, so why don’t you puppies use the puppy bed, huh?”

Patch yips at him, tongue lolling out of his mouth in a lopsided grin, like he’s teasing Gerard by being disobedient, and totally ruining Gerard’s pose by pulling up the most kind and thankful puppy eyes. Both puppies do actually, and Gerard dismisses it with a hand gesture and looks over at Frank, who’s smiling fondly.

“It’s cold in the living room, G,” Frank says in a low voice, lying down and pulling the covers over himself again. He’s turned to Gerard and he has a beautiful face, especially because he looks so happy right now. Gerard knew the dogs would be the best present ever, but he’d never imagined this.

It’s perfect, and he’s tempted to smile back at Frank, but the puppies are distracting him. They’re shifting on the bed, trying to get comfortable over the bedding now, in between Frank and Gerard. If it weren’t for Gerard’s disapproval of this situation, he’d find this scene very sweet. Frank has a hand over Patch’s little body and Zink is nibbling on Frank’s fingers, and that breaks Gerard’s boundaries. He can’t really be mad at Frank for being so lovable, even though these dogs might be the end of Gerard’s quiet life.

“Well, tomorrow I’ll get their bed into our room, since it’s so cold there now,” Gerard says with an eye roll. He might have given up, might have just allowed the dogs to sleep here tonight, but the glint in Frank’s eyes is the best reward ever. Frank’s face is really fucking pretty when he’s smiling and also when he just won another fight over the dogs’ habits. “I can let them sleep here, but not on the bed. Not anymore.”

Frank hums idly and snuggles as close to Gerard as he can, while the dogs settle down to sleep as well. Gerard takes one last look at Frank, his peaceful face as he waits for his sleep with his eyes closed, and one last look at the pups that seem to sigh in contentment at the warmth of the bed and Frank’s hand.

They’re so tiny that Frank can touch the both of them, although not entirely, but if Gerard places his hand over Frank’s, he can hold the three of them perfectly. This way the dogs will be warm, Frank will fall asleep with a smile on his face and Gerard will have lost another battle. But he prefers to lose if he gets to keep his favorite man and his gorgeous dogs. He loves it here.

*

_November 13_

“Bless you.”

“Thanks,” Frank replies, rolling his eyes a little. Gerard smiles at his behavior, recognizing that Frank’s sneezing has been pretty annoying for the past week. He’s sick, but not severely ill, and they both hate the sneezing and the coughing and the fact that it doesn’t go away. Gerard knows this is just the beginning, because Frank usually spends several days like this before he falls into bed with something serious. It’s _always_ the same.

“I hate sneezing,” Frank adds after blowing his nose and throwing the used tissue into the nearest trashcan. Gerard smiles at him again, nodding in agreement, and takes his hand. He loves holding Frank’s hand in public.

They’re at the mall for the usual monthly shopping. Mostly they buy groceries, but before that they usually take a tour of the mall in case they need anything else. Today, Gerard wanted to get Frank an extra scarf and bought a woolen one, the thickest and warmest scarf he could find. Poor Frank didn’t really have much of an opportunity to protest as he spent the whole time sneezing and coughing into the crook of his elbow.

Right now, still holding Frank’s hand firmly in his, Gerard walks them quickly to the escalators so they can get to the supermarket area downstairs before it gets too late, but he forgets an important detail. In order to use the escalators that are closest to the supermarket, they pass by the pet store and of course, Frank stops and pulls on his arm. “G, let’s take a look at the pet store. Maybe they’ll have some cute dog sweaters.”

“What for?” Gerard complains, pulling Frank back to where he’s still standing fixed to the ground. Their dogs certainly don’t need any clothes. “It’s getting late and you know what happens to the kitchen floor when we take too long to get home.”

“I know how to clean up, now c’mon,” Frank insists, pulling on Gerard’s arm again and shamelessly using those big puppy eyes of his own. It’s just his luck that Gerard has learned how to resist them, at least in most occasions and definitely when it’s something irrationally related to the dogs. “G, please, think about all the stuff they might sell. The pups will look so cute!”

“Frank, we’re not gonna buy _clothes_ for the dogs,” Gerard warns in a firm voice. He’s pretty resolute to stick to his plan and pulls Frank towards the escalators, once more reminding him that they can’t take too long.

Frank pulls on his arm in response and, looking quite disappointed, he says, “You forced me to buy a new scarf for no reason–”

“Because you don’t have one this thick, okay? I’m thinking about your cough.”

“Yeah, yeah, it’s so cold for me, but not for them? Pfft. I’m going into that store, with or without you,” Frank replies sternly, releasing his small hand from Gerard’s grip, despite the difference in size. That seems to work in his favor when Frank’s determined to do something.

Gerard sighs and shakes his head again as he watches Frank stomping towards the store. He looks down at the bag in his left hand, thinking about the woolen garment and his best intentions of keeping Frank healthy during the cold season. Thinking if he should go after Frank and convince him that this is absolutely unnecessary or if he should lose another battle over these dogs. He got them because he wanted to surprise Frank, not torture himself over these kind of petty matters, but he’ll never be able to stop these petulant demands. Frank is like a kid in love with his new toys and that is something Gerard can live with, but these scenes in public are getting ridiculous and Gerard can’t tolerate any more of this.

He is startled out of his thoughts when he sees Frank standing by the door to the pet store, coughing badly into his arm again. He’s definitely getting worse and this is not something Gerard wants to do again. Last year, Frank spent two weeks in the hospital with an infection and it was scary because Gerard wasn’t able to take any leave from work to look after Frank. Instead, he called Frank practically every hour and was a mess if Frank didn’t answer the phone for whatever reason. If he never goes through anything similar again in his life, it’ll be too soon.

Gerard approaches Frank and puts a hand on his shoulder, smiling fondly when Frank turns his head to look at him through teary eyes. The coughing fit lasts for an excruciating moment and, when it’s finally over, Frank is bent over himself and gripping Gerard’s arm strongly. Gerard tries to soothe Frank’s discomfort by rubbing Frank’s back, but Frank is almost breathless at the end. This constricts Gerard’s own lungs and sadly there isn’t much he can do. He can comfort Frank and support him if he loses his balance and of course, he can only silently consent when Frank looks up at him with begging eyes. It’ll only be a sweater for each dog, so it’s okay. It shouldn’t be worth fighting over.

What Gerard doesn’t predict is that they spend over twenty minutes in the store and leave with four dog outfits and a pissed off Frank. Gerard’s going after him quickly, honestly worried about this situation. They should be on their way home by now, not to the supermarket, and not with extra sweaters for the puppies. He might have snapped at Frank, but it was totally reasonable.

“They’re on sale, G. If we’d bought six, we could have brought a seventh sweater. For free! And they’re all so awesome,” Frank argues, still replying to when Gerard had said that this was really unnecessary.

“Frank, our dogs don’t need so many outfits. They’re puppies and we don’t take them anywhere. And they’re growing so quickly, it’s just not worth buying so many now.”

“Don’t talk to me again.” Frank sticks his tongue out immaturely at Gerard and leaves with hurried steps. Gerard only snorts because this is clearly unnecessary and childish, but he can live with it. Frank’s scenes never last too long and this one should be no different, so Gerard follows him without another word, Frank stomping all the way to the supermarket.

Even while they’re rushing through the aisles, Gerard checking off the items on his list because they really can’t waste too much time in here, Frank doesn’t respond to Gerard. He doesn’t give it much thought, knowing that Frank will soon forget about their argument and move on, but he doesn’t patronize Frank either. He knows that having a dog is very exciting to Frank, but he just thinks they need to take it easy. They can’t go on buying cute sweaters just because it’s cold, since they set a nice temperature at home the whole time and since they don’t even take the dogs out except to the backyard for a few minutes at a time.

Gerard tries to explain this to Frank calmly and seriously, but Frank doesn’t really reply. At some point, however, he restarts sneezing and coughing frequently, like at times his lungs can’t really take the usual task of breathing. Gerard passes him tissues when he needs and thinks about purchasing more flu medication, maybe an expectorant to get rid of that horrible cough, maybe a visit to the doctor if he gets worse too fast or if he gets a fever… the usual.

“I think it’s…” he trails off, pushing their cart and sending Frank to an aisle just a few steps ahead of them. He browses the contents until he finds what they need. He almost laughs at Frank’s disgusted face, but they both lose their expressions when Frank starts sneezing again. “It’s definitely time to load up on herbal tea.”

Frank rolls his eyes in between two loud sneezes.

*

_November 16 _  
__

“How are you feeling?”

Frank shrugs and moans painfully as he moves around in his chair. He clears his throat next, making a gurgled noise that makes Gerard cringe. He hates the sound of this. He had thought that Frank would get sick really fast, but not to this extent.

Three days ago, after they got home from the mall, Frank complained of a killer headache and Gerard sent him to bed after dinner with a painkiller. He remained downstairs, cleaning up the kitchen and getting other chores done, including checking his preparation for work the next day, and went to the bedroom over two hours later. Frank was curled up under the covers, his hands tight around the comforter that he had pulled up to his chin. The dogs seemed to be there too, although Gerard could only see their noses peeking out from under the covers next to Frank’s face.

Frank opened his eyes and smiled weakly, but then he shivered violently. Gerard stopped in his tracks and approached the bed, bringing a hand to his forehead and feeling it hot. He clearly had a fever, but hopefully the painkiller after dinner would help keeping it down during the night, so Gerard let it go without thinking too much about it.

The fever was still there the next morning, though. It was still there until today.

So now they’re at the hospital, waiting to see Frank’s doctor. Gerard brought him here almost forcefully to see if they can get any proper diagnosis, any proper prescription to make Frank feel better, really just anything to take this anguish out of Gerard’s heart. He simply hates it when Frank is sick, how fragile he gets, how torn he sounds from three days of intense coughing. He’s truly worried; has been so for days, but now they can only wait.

He thinks back to when they left the house, to the dogs looking up at him boggling him to hurry up and make Frank feel better quickly. Gerard shared a particular long gaze with Patch, such a beautiful and caring pet, and tried to tell him that everything would be alright, tried to tell him that no matter how long he took to come back, they would always be fine. He hated seeing their puppies so sad and thinks back to this scene with a sigh.

Frank sneezes three times in a row, though, and coughs after blowing his nose, and Gerard just wants to make him feel better somehow. He starts by drawing an arm around Frank’s shoulders and holding him against his side. Gerard feels his forehead and it’s hotter now, as the anti-pyretic effect from the painkiller he took after breakfast must be wearing out. Not to mention that Frank looks exhausted and sounds awful when he coughs again, quivering strongly against Gerard.

Gerard caresses his shoulder and shushes him, tightening his arm around Frank. He feels so warm when Gerard kisses his temple, but finally a voice announces, “Frank Iero.”

*

_November 20_

Gerard is _still_ at work today, but thankfully he’s almost finished. He looks at the clock on the wall and realizes that he should have been home at least ten minutes ago, but he hasn’t even left yet. He automatically thinks about Frank and if he’s freaking out already, since he’s been staying at home after his diagnosis.

The problem is that without Frank here to help him, Gerard has to work for the both of them, so it’s been pretty crazy the whole week. He will have to manage, of course, and he used to do the same amount of things before he gave Frank a job here anyway. So he might be behind time in this task, but he’ll manage.

Gerard wants to have it all done in less than twenty minutes, so he can go home and take care of Frank, cook something healthy for him, make sure he takes his medicine, bundle him up in sweaters and afghans if they sit on the couch watching TV or send him to bed if his fever is up again. Gerard loves doing these things for Frank. It makes him feel useful and Frank is always sluggish when he’s sick, and the dogs spend the whole time around his ankles or on his lap or sleeping with him, which doesn’t give Frank any energy obviously. That’s alright, Gerard thinks, laughing lightly to himself, and decides to stop thinking about Frank or he’ll never finish this off today.

After this, he still needs to sit in the office and prepare everything for tomorrow, so he can start working first thing in the morning, but when he’s finally focused on work again, his phone rings. Gerard gets it from his pocket, wiping his sweaty hands on his work pants first, and frowns at the ID caller. It’s Frank. He must be worried. “Hey, didn’t you see my text message earlier? I’ll be out of here in twenty minutes, okay?”

“Gerard?” Frank says in a broken voice, but it’s not just clogged with sickness. There’s something more to it, so Gerard asks him what’s wrong. “Can you come home now please? I think Zink is seriously hurt.”

_Zink._

“Zink?” Gerard has no idea how to react at first, but once he hears the dog whining in the background, he stops everything. “Why’s he whining like this? Is he alright? Are _you_ alright?”

“I’m fine, but he isn’t. I think it’s very serious,” Frank replies in an urgent voice. This is confusing Gerard more than anything, but he can leave work as it is and finish it tomorrow, especially as Frank coughs and says in his wrecked voice, “We fell off the stairs, G. Can you come? Please?”

“You fell off– what?” Gerard is suddenly concerned about Frank and the dogs. They might be everywhere now, even invading his bed, and they might spend the whole time stealing Frank from him, but Gerard really cares for them. They make Frank so happy and that’s what Gerard will always need, so he puts everything down and gets ready to leave immediately. He whispers to himself a list of what he should prep at home for tomorrow, if he has time to do so later. He gets his coat and tells Frank, “Don’t worry, I’ll be leaving right away.”

“Thanks, G.” Gerard hangs up after telling Frank how much he loves him, and he just rushes outside, locking all the doors on his way out and setting the alarm when he leaves the building. He has a severe family drama to fix.

When he gets home and opens the front door, he hears the puppy’s cries and feels horrified. He can also hear Frank murmuring, or maybe singing lowly, but the dog makes the most pitiful noises Gerard has ever heard. He finds Frank sitting at the bottom of the stairs, one hand over Zink’s tiny head and Zink’s left leg is stretched out kind of awkwardly, even though the pup is curled up against the last step. Gerard gulps at the scene and approaches Frank, asking what he’s done already. “I called Dr. Gibson and told him I was just waiting for you.”

Gerard nods and looks down at Frank, who puts a hand over his own knee and tries to disguise a cringe. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. It’s Zink I’m worried about,” Frank says hurriedly, sending a painful gaze towards the puppy. Patch is lying beside him, his head in between Zink’s front paws and he’s looking at Gerard, waiting for a solution. Gerard has to do something of course, but he diverts his attention to Frank when he continues to speak. “I was coming downstairs to take them out before dark, but they were so excited that– I think Zink slipped on a step, and I slipped on him and we fell down. I fell on top of his leg and I’m so scared. What if it’s broken, G?”

Gerard caresses Frank’s hair and kneels down, trying to pick Zink up to take him to the vet himself. He’s not letting Frank out in this cold when he’s sick, let alone when he fell off the stairs and might have strained something too. Yet the dog starts whining even louder when Gerard touches him, so Gerard pulls away and looks at Frank, concerned. “Be careful, G! He’s in so much pain.”

“I didn’t do anything!” Gerard defends himself, adding, “I just wanna take him to the vet.”

“I’m coming too.”

“No way. It’s too cold outside and you–”

“I don’t care. I’m going. He won’t let you touch him, didn’t you just see?” Frank argues back and Gerard doesn’t even bother to say anything else. He just goes upstairs to get a coat for Frank and that’s it. He brings an overcoat, two scarves and Frank’s beanie, sighing because Frank’s going to get worse and his leg is going to swell, and their dog is fucking sick as well, and Gerard’s having a really shitty week at work already.

Back downstairs, he sheaves Frank up in all those layers of clothing, wraps his scarves tight around his neck and then Frank sneezes again. Gerard stops and looks at him, but Frank pushes him aside and says, “Hurry up. Get their blanket from the living room!”

He stares at Frank for a second, but ignores his overactive feelings. Everything is messing up with Gerard and he doesn’t want to be even more stressed out, so he gets the dogs’ blanket to wrap Zink up in it. The puppy cries out loud when Frank picks him up and it brings tears to Gerard’s eyes, but Frank looks so worried and determined that he decides to act.

He bundles up the dog as well and, even though he’s whining, Frank’s whispering a song to him and it might be calming him down. At least Zink’s ears are perked up and his bright eyes gaze at Frank trustingly. Finally on their way to the door, Patch follows them quickly, paws clacking against the floor, but Gerard tells him to stay put because they’ll be right back and closes the door. Patch stays behind, obedient. Gerard can hear him whining and scratching at the door as he locks it, but there’s nothing he can do right now.

Thankfully he left the car unlocked before and, when he turns around with a sigh, Frank’s getting inside already.

Gerard shakes his head to himself as he gets in and starts the car, wondering how this happened, but he forgets about it quickly. He can hear that Zink’s noises are lower and less frequent, and Frank’s telling him that everything will be alright while scratching behind the dog’s ears. Zink looks so calm now and it’s great that he loves to ride in the car, so he’s mostly quiet all the way to the vet.

On the ride back home, almost two hours later, Frank looks really tired. He has his head against the window and his eyes are weary and unfocused. Zink is on his lap half asleep from the vet’s anti-inflammatory medication and possibly from tiredness too, but thankfully he’s not whining anymore. It hurt so much to hear him, and even more to watch Frank as he held Zink against his chest completely powerlessly, but the puppy only has a sprained tendon on his leg and that’s a relief. The vet said he should be better in a few days.

Gerard is mostly worried about Frank because he tried to disguise it at the clinic, but he couldn’t. Gerard saw him limping and grimacing and clutching his knee, so there has to be something wrong with him too, except he refused to approach the issue so far. He won’t be able to do that anymore because Gerard will insist that he at least takes care of himself the same way he’s doing with their dog.

Finally, they get home and Gerard parks in the garage and looks over at Frank, who seems to have fallen asleep. Gerard presses the button on the small remote to close the garage gate and proceeds to shake Frank awake. Frank looks up and around blearily, and asks, “Are we home?”

“Yeah,” Gerard says unbuckling his belt and leaning forward to do the same to Frank’s. Frank thanks him in a low voice, yawning afterwards, but then he shifts on the seat and grimaces. Gerard doesn’t want to mention it, but it’s making him uncomfortable having to watch Frank like this. “Frank, are you alright?”

“I’m good.” Frank forces a smile and looks down at the small dog on his lap, scratching Zink behind his ears. His face is very pale and that’s worrisome. Being sick always makes Frank look very drowsy, and he should be resting by now, but that’s when Gerard remembers something even more important.

Frank didn’t take his afternoon medication today. He usually does when Gerard gets home since he needs to take it on an empty stomach, but today they didn’t even think about it. How could Gerard forget about it? He shakes his head, feeling frustrated at himself, and gets out of the car to open Frank’s door for him. Frank gets out and stands up, but his leg gives out and he stumbles against Gerard.

“We need to get that knee checked out,” Gerard says, seriously worried and wanting to help. He just wants what he’s always wanted, to keep Frank safe, so Gerard helps him getting into the house, keeping the pressure off Frank’s right leg. Frank insists that it’s nothing, but Gerard just can’t stand the thought of Frank in pain, so he knows what he’ll be doing tonight.

He starts by leaving Frank sitting on the couch with his leg up on it too, stretched out to prevent it from swelling, even if Frank rolls his eyes at Gerard. He knows what he’s doing, though. On his way to the kitchen, Gerard hears Zink whining and Frank cooing back at his puppy, but a smile grows on his face. Frank loves those pups so much, but honestly Gerard didn’t expect anything else.

Back in the living room, minutes later, Gerard hands Frank his meds and a glass of water, and he also has two packs of ice wrapped up in dish towels. “Where does it hurt?”

“I don’t need any ice, G. I’m fine,” Frank complains, getting the smaller pack because Gerard brought it for Zink’s leg. That was one of the vet’s advice for the first twenty-four hours of the dog’s treatment, and the following day they’ll have to put warm cloths to his leg for other forty-eight hours and he should feel better. Gerard can’t help but smile at the thought that Frank will be cuddling with Zink the whole time for the next few days, but that’s good because at least he will be off of his injured leg.

“Fine, but keep your leg up, okay? Just in case. I’m gonna make something for dinner, call me if you need anything,” Gerard announces.

Frank nods and hums as Gerard gets the remote and turns the TV on, leaving it to Frank to choose something to watch, but first Frank looks up at him and asks, “Will you look for Patch? I dunno where he is.”

“Sure, don’t worry.” Gerard turns around and sets himself to several tasks. First of all, he takes his overcoat and scarf off, putting them on the hanger by the front door, and sets the thermostat on the wall to a comfortable temperature, and then he takes a look around the living room, foyer and kitchen.

That’s where he finds Patch, by the door to the back yard. The dog’s looking up guiltily with a forlorn expression, trembling too, like he’s afraid of something. Gerard sees the mess on the kitchen floor right before he steps on it, and remembers that they didn’t take Patch out because of all the confusion earlier. They also don’t have a dog door yet since it’s so cold and the pups are so small. He can’t get mad obviously because he knows what happened and understands the dog’s urgency, but Patch still lowers his head to his paws and cries a little, whining apologetically. Smiling and squatting, Gerard caresses the pup’s head softly and tells him, “It’s okay, Patch. I’m not mad. _I’m sorry_ we couldn’t take you out. You still wanna go for a run?”

Gerard opens the door for the dog and turns the lights on outside, watching him run out of the house happily, tail wagging furiously and sniffing around at the grass, but he turns around to clean up before he does anything else. He takes the trash out and makes sure that Frank is still on the couch, and of course he is. The best part is that Frank has his head on the armrest and seems to be sleeping with Zink up on his chest. Zink has his paws under him, supporting his head and he looks up at Gerard, cocking his head to the side when Gerard peers over the couch as though he’s reassuring Gerard that he’s watching over Frank. Frank sleeps on, oblivious and the two of them look absolutely beautiful.

Gerard rolls his sleeves up and washes his hands on the kitchen sink before he starts making dinner. It’s late, so he’ll have to make something really fast and ends up just chopping up vegetables. He opens the door to Patch when the pup starts scratching on it, panting and yipping and waggling his cute, tiny tail. He’s the cutest dog ever and Gerard is glad he got him for Frank, along with Zink that is another bundle of joy. But the dog is still looking up at him expectantly, so Gerard picks him up and cuddles him in the palms of his hands where Patch still fits perfectly.

He pets the puppy’s sweet white fur and opens up to him. “I never want to go through that again. Did you hear Zink’s cries? I was petrified, but he’s okay now. We can fix him and Frank will spoil the fuck out of him, and it’s gonna be alright. Although we might need to keep an eye on Frank too. He’s not gonna do anything about his knee, won’t let me do anything about it either. Help me out, okay?”

The dog doesn’t say anything in response of course, but keeps staring at Gerard, with liquid eyes that are so clear and bright it seems as though he understands every word Gerard is saying. He’s just a puppy, but Gerard has faith in him. Patch loves Frank more than anything and will take good care of him for Gerard. “You want to see them?”

Gerard takes Patch to the living room and finds Frank still napping on the couch, in a rather uncomfortable position. He puts the dog on his stomach and tries to shift at least his arms and adjust his neck, but Frank wakes up rather confused. “What’s going on?”

“I brought you Patch,” Gerard says, watching the puppy crawl around Zink, poking his black wet nose over Zink’s body as he nudges Zink aside to make room for himself. Zink makes a soft whiny sound as he shifts, and Patch finally settles himself in the crook of Frank’s neck, body smashed up against Zink. He sighs like he’s relieved and contented and Gerard wants to feel the same, but not with the painful frown he can see on Frank’s face, no matter how much he tries to disguise it with a confused look. “You wanna go to bed instead?”

“But you’re cooking,” Frank replies, which doesn’t make much sense. Gerard doesn’t care, especially when Frank gets a hand to his head and complains of a strong headache. And he sneezes and coughs at the same time, the dogs shaking with the powerful quake of his body. This means he’s getting even worse. Frank is feeling the effects of going outside after he’s already sick, and Gerard sighs, not ready for this at all. He hates when Frank gets sick.

He sighs. “Alright, I’ll tell you when it’s ready.” He goes back to the kitchen and gets it done in record time and Gerard spends the rest of the evening focused on Frank and the dogs and all the things that need to be done around the house. He helps Frank into bed not even an hour after dinner, but when Frank gets up from the couch, he hisses.

“Stop looking at me like that,” he retorts when Gerard shoots him a look of pure worry. He can’t believe Frank didn’t tell him that he’s hurting this much, but it’s still early enough to hand him a painkiller. Gerard can only hope he’ll be okay. He doesn’t want to take Frank to the hospital unless he really has to, so he’ll do his best to look out for Frank. He’ll start by answering every request, even the most obvious ones.

“They’re sleeping in our bed tonight.”

Gerard doesn’t even want to say no. He just nods, gathers Frank’s sleeping clothes while he places Patch and Zink on the bed, right next to his pillow, all curled up around each other. Soon enough Frank joins them and lies on his side, and Gerard gets an extra pillow from the closet to put under Frank’s leg even though Frank rolls his eyes at him again.

“Stop whining, okay? It’s hurting you enough as it is,” Gerard says harshly, not wanting to offend, but not wanting Frank to take this lightly either. Especially because Gerard can see that his knee is swollen and it seems to be extending down to his leg, and maybe his foot. This is definitely serious.

With a sigh, Gerard leans in for a goodnight kiss on his forehead and smoothes his hand down Frank’s short hair and then on the two puppies, thinking about what it’s going to be like, tomorrow. He’s going to be so worried about Frank when he goes to work that he probably won’t function right. Suddenly, he remembers that he still needs to prepare everything for tomorrow, so he leaves another kiss on Frank’s cheek and wishes him a good night.

“You’re not coming to bed?” Frank asks him very drowsily. The medication must be hitting him really hard, but that’s good.

“No, I still have things to do for tomorrow, and I need to wait until the laundry is ready. Just go to sleep, I’ll be right back.” Frank merely hums a reply in return, so Gerard leaves the room with a mind full of self-imposed chores to take care of and with his heart heavy with worry.

He certainly doesn’t expect that, when he’s in his office, sitting in front of his laptop and the small lamp on the desk being the main source of light in the room, the door creaks open. He left it open ajar on purpose, in case Frank called for him or something, but didn’t think Frank would get up and come to him. Maybe he’s been in here for hours and Frank is just worried, but when he looks at the clock in the corner of the screen, he sees that he’s only been here for two hours.

Then, as he looks at the door, he finds Patch coming in. The white puppy is wiggling his tail slowly and there’s an attentive look in his little eyes, like he’s purely worried about Gerard being out here and not in bed with Frank. This may seem corny, but it warms Gerard’s heart.

This isn’t exactly new, though. Gerard has found Patch lurking in the corners of the rooms he’s in more often than not. It’s like he’s keeping Gerard company or watching over him the same way he does to Frank and to the puppies. It’s quite uplifting. It makes Gerard smile and shake his head at the charming character of their dogs.

However, Gerard needs to keep working for a little longer until he has organized his work completely and, whenever he looks up, he finds Patch sitting by the door. He’s keeping guard, the darkness hiding him and bringing out the brightness of his eyes. Later on, Gerard is almost finished with what he wanted to do when he feels the pup pulling on his trousers. He’s still wearing his work clothes, not having taken a shower and not even having changed out of these clothes because of what happened, and Patch is pulling on the fabric with a small whine.

Patch wants Gerard to leave, wants Gerard to come to bed. He desperately needs to do so as they had a horrible day and even his dog understands that. Sighing, Gerard turns off his laptop and leans down, picking Patch up. The dog doesn’t make a sound as he fits perfectly in the crook of Gerard’s elbow, looking up with weary eyes. Gerard feels very exhausted as well and yawns, cuddling the dog closer to his chest and getting up to turn off the light and get ready for bed at last.

*

_November 27_

Gerard pulls away from Frank’s crotch right after Frank comes. He has that concentrated frown that he pulls after any blowjob and it’s both dramatic and beautiful, and Gerard can only climb up over him and kiss it away.

Frank has been sick for almost a month, but he has been feeling better lately as his medication seems to take effect day after day. The official treatment won’t stop for another three weeks, but Gerard is hopeful about Frank’s recovery. So far, he’s still feeling very light-headed after any efforts and sex is one of those occasions.

“You good?” Gerard asks, panting slightly.

“Just perfect,” Frank replies with a bright grin, tracing Gerard’s lips with his thumb. His eyes look glazed over, and Gerard can’t wish for anything else in life. He tried his best to offer Frank another memorable evening and finding that look in Frank’s overall expression is gratifying.

“You’re perfect,” Gerard says back, leaning in to kiss the proud grin off of Frank’s face. His smiles are gorgeous, but Gerard can’t resist him in this post-coital bliss.

“Not just yet,” Frank retaliates, pushing Gerard’s shoulder and shoving until Gerard is laying on his back. He watches curiously as Frank straddles him and smiles at him, kissing his mouth with passion, but only for a tiny second. Gerard can barely taste him with how swift it is, as Frank trails kisses down his chest, every movement bringing Frank closer to his crotch.

“Frank, you don’t have to do this just because I–”

“I want to, though,” Frank cuts Gerard off with a smirk, placing a final kiss on Gerard’s navel before moving down completely.

Gerard is still wearing pants, but Frank is quick to get rid of them too, knowing just where to press to make Gerard buck his hips so that his pants slide off his ass. It’s a perfect moment that needs no coordination; their bodies have memorized how this works for them and it’s always so natural that it seems impossibly soon when Frank wraps his thin lips around the head of Gerard’s cock.

It doesn’t take long for Gerard to get used to this, after weeks of barely any affection. When Frank is sick, he’s always drowsy and Gerard is always tired, and this year the dogs didn’t leave Frank alone, so Gerard barely had a moment just with him. Tonight, after Frank approached him with eagerness deeply in his eyes and started kissing his neck, Gerard made sure to close the bedroom door at least until they’re finished here.

Soon his stomach coils in anticipation and he shuts his eyes, moaning lowly and trying not to buck into Frank’s mouth, but honestly he can’t help it. Maybe that’s why Frank takes a break, pulling off at some point and Gerard only reminds himself to apologize.

“Sorry, Frank, but I can’t–” He moans again, wrapping a hand around his cock to help Frank a little with his impatience.

“It’s not you,” Frank says and Gerard is mystified when he opens his eyes to look at him. Frank has a hand around his throat and coughs lightly, but dismisses it with a hand gesture and goes back to suck Gerard off. He doesn’t go smoothly, rolling his tongue around the head and using his teeth a little too, but then he stops again. “Sorry, G.”

As he apologizes, Gerard lifts his head from the pillow and looks at him. The next thing he sees is Frank getting up from the bed and running towards their en-suite bathroom. Gerard frowns, but follows him and, before he gets to the bathroom door, he can hear Frank retching. So it’s not over yet. Gerard sighs.

Frank has always puked in reaction to his medication. The doctor said that it was a usual side effect and that it probably wouldn’t stop until he stopped taking it and, although there were other options to treat the same condition, Frank couldn’t take them. He had severe allergic reactions in the first few days, so he had to endure the vomiting instead. Gerard hated it.

“Are you alright?” Gerard asks softly, approaching Frank slowly from behind. He’s kneeling in front of the toilet, his knees turning red from the fall and most likely from the cold linoleum, and Gerard caresses Frank’s hair with a kind hand. Frank shakes his head and doesn’t look up as he clutches the edge of the toilet tightly, so Gerard kneels down beside him and waits until he’s finished.

Frank spends a long time leaning against the toilet, fighting against his protesting stomach, and Gerard stays there with him for comfort and even lets the dogs in when they start whining outside the room. When they go back to bed, Gerard is putting on his sweatpants when he notices that Frank has his eyes closed.

“Is something wrong?” Gerard asks, truly concerned about Frank.

“I’m sorry.” Frank keeps his eyes closed and speaks like he’s ashamed of what happened, when there is nothing to apologize for. Gerard had tried to stop him, aware that this could happen. Frank has been dealing with a tender stomach, and although they had never tried oral sex before, he’s gotten sick often for stupid reasons. But Frank had insisted and Gerard wasn’t strong enough to deny himself the pleasure of Frank’s tiny mouth pleasuring him.

“There’s nothing to apologize for,” Gerard says honestly, lying down at last. He moves a hand under Frank’s face, caressing his cheek and quietly asking him to open his eyes. Frank does and they’re kind of sad, but there’s really no reason for him to be upset. Gerard smiles at him just to tell him that. “It wasn’t your fault. And you’ll be off this medication soon, so we can try this again by then. Don’t worry, I’m fine.”

Frank nods, but closes his eyes again. Gerard doesn’t mind. He understands. It’s a pretty awkward situation, so he won’t say anything else either. He will let Frank deal with it the way he wants to and, if he needs help with something, Gerard will be here for him. He tells him just that with words and a warm kiss on his lips.

Gerard can hear the dogs sighing after he makes Frank moan within the next strong kiss. They spend a long moment kissing each other, just because they can, and Gerard just wants Frank to know that he’s not judging this situation at all. A million things could happen to interrupt their special moment.

*

_December 13_

“What are you doing?”

Gerard is just out of the shower with a towel around his waist and, getting to the bedroom, he finds that Frank is already up too. He hasn’t been up this early in a few weeks, but the most intriguing fact is that he’s in front of the closet looking at his clothes. Gerard walks closer to him and stops beside Frank, turning to his profile, trying to make Frank look back at him. “I said, what are you doing?”

“I’m going back to work today,” Frank replies casually, like he didn’t spend the past weeks severely ill.

“No, you’re not.” Gerard frowns down at him, studying Frank’s expression. When it doesn’t change whatsoever, and Frank gets a pair of jeans and a button-down shirt out of the closet, Gerard puts his hands on his hips. He’s trying to get Frank to talk because they had a similar conversation just yesterday morning.

Frank turns around to the bed to put the clothes on it, and says, “I’m coming with you today. I’m feeling a lot better and you should put on some clothes before _you_ get sick now.”

“Frank–”

“I don’t wanna hear it.” Frank dismisses Gerard’s speech with a hand gesture and goes back to the closet, getting some clean socks and underwear. Gerard doesn’t know what to say. He’s completely incredulous over Frank’s determination, not to mention worried about his condition. He just watches, kind of shocked, as Frank stomps around the bed and to the en-suite bathroom.

Gerard stands there for a moment, considering an emergency plan to carry on with this conversation after Frank comes out of the shower, but then a shiver runs through him. He decides to get dressed and picks up the suit he chose last night, since he has an important meeting at ten o’clock and needs to dress up formally. While he does so, Gerard shakes his head at Frank’s intention. It’s true that he has been feeling better for a few days, but Gerard would rather not risk anything right now, especially because he knows how cold it is this morning.

Earlier, Gerard went downstairs to start the coffee machine and the dogs wanted to go outside so he let them out into the back yard, and he almost froze to his bones merely from opening the door. That’s why he doesn’t want Frank to go outside yet as he might get worse, because he’s very sensitive to low temperatures. Gerard understands that Frank might be feeling frustrated after staying at home for a month, but honestly? Gerard is too scared of the effects of the cold on Frank.

He’s adjusting his tie when he hears the dogs yipping. They’re finally back from their breakfast downstairs and are scratching at the bathroom door, and then Frank can be heard from inside telling them to wait a minute. They quiet down obediently because they are quite loyal to Frank and his orders, and Gerard sees that Zink stays sitting down by the bathroom door but Patch approaches the bed. Gerard watches curiously as the white pup sniffs at Frank’s clothes on the bed, but ends up startling Gerard with a loud yip.

“Sorry pal, I can’t pick you up right now.” The whining gaze that Patch shows him disarms him, though, and he squats down to pat the dog’s tiny head tenderly. He chuckles at the change in the dog’s expression, from sad to delighted, so suddenly. Their dogs are just so open with their emotions, so loving and eager to please that Gerard just couldn’t help himself from loving them back.

“You spoiled dog,” he chastises Patch half-heartedly as Patch nudges his hand back so that Gerard can reach behind his ears. Patch gives a contented whine as Gerard scratches him there.

At the same time, Frank opens the door and comes out into the bedroom, and Patch runs to him swiftly. Gerard gets up too and looks at Frank, remembering the conversation they didn’t really finish. “Frank, please don’t go to work today. It’s so cold.”

Frank ignores Gerard and pets the dogs, wishes them a good morning as they dance around him, certainly excited about Frank being out of bed. Then he moves closer to the bed and starts putting on his clothes, speaking to the dogs, “Go tell that grumpy old man that I’m coming to work today. I need to go out or I’ll go mad instead.”

Gerard huffs at him, slightly desperate because he really doesn’t want to do this. However, Frank is adamant. “I’m not staying at home any other day, I don’t care what you say. We had this same discussion yesterday and I stayed at home, but not today. I’m serious.”

“Frank please, listen to me. It’s so cold outside. Why don’t you stay home the rest of the week?” Gerard insists softly, approaching Frank and buttoning down the shirt for him. He’s just worried.

“You have no idea,” Frank starts, huffing and slapping Gerard’s hands away when he’s finished. “What it’s like to stay home for so long, just sneezing and coughing and sitting around with nothing to do, okay? Besides, you have a meeting in the morning, and you’ve been behind your own schedule for weeks and can’t do everything on your own. I’m going, and that’s final.”

Frank buttons down his cuffs and shoves the edges into his pants as he says this while Gerard watches him with concern. He does look better and Gerard believes him when he says he feels good, but Gerard needs to stop losing battles to Frank.

“Do you remember last week? Or did you forget what happened the last time you went to work because you ‘felt better’?” He even uses air quotes to make his point across, to make sure Frank realizes what he’s doing. Sure enough Frank stops and looks up at Gerard, curiously. “I don’t wanna bring you home in a rush after you pass out, okay? Ever again. So you’re not going.”

“I’m fine, G,” Frank says, rolling his eyes and going to the closet to get a jacket. He throws it over his arm, turns back around to Gerard and asks, “Breakfast?”

Gerard nods with a defeated sigh. They remain quiet all the way down the stairs, except for Frank laughing at the dogs and warning them about the dangers of those stairs. Gerard doesn’t bother thinking back to it, to the week they spent with sprained tendons and swollen knees. He just gets to the kitchen and retrieves two mugs from the dishwasher. His is the biggest one and Gerard fills it with hot coffee, and fills Frank’s halfway with coffee so he can pour some milk on it as well. This is routine by now, Frank going to the fridge to get cheese for his sandwich. Then they sit down at the table and, watching Frank prepare his food, Gerard sips on his coffee. Then he sees Frank rubbing his arms like he’s cold, before he grabs his sandwich. It is much colder downstairs, even Gerard notices the difference but it won’t affect him as badly as it will do Frank, since he’s only recovering.

Merely two weeks ago, Frank was puking his guts out three times a day due to his medication and Gerard was waking up in the middle of the night to Frank shaking horribly, even with the warmest comforter on the bed. It was so difficult. Frank had a fever at times, on and off, and some days he didn’t want to get out of bed, so Gerard went to work overly worried and didn’t think properly the whole time. Then back at home, he’d find Frank curled up on the couch shivering again, even though the thermostat was at eighty degrees and the house was as hot as a summer day. He took Frank to the doctor more than once and always came back empty-handed because Frank was medicated, some days Frank was furious and yelled at him for being so stubborn, but most of the time they were a mess, one from sickness, the other from tiredness.

When Gerard’s finished drinking his morning beverage, Frank is already washing his mug and Gerard realizes that he had lost himself in his own head, as he puts his mug down with a clink. Then he feels a hand on his shoulder. “G, are you alright? You’ve zoned out.”

Gerard looks up at Frank’s rosy cheeks and his lip seems to be trembling from the cold, and Gerard just says, “Frank please, don’t go. I can see you shaking from the cold and you’re not even out of the house yet.”

However, Frank ignores him again and walks down to the living room. “Oh stop saying that. I’ll wear as many layers as you want me to.”

“I want you to stay home,” Gerard states, getting up and following Frank, mug forgotten on the table. Once in the foyer, he adjusts the thermostat to a warmer temperature, even though Frank is sliding on the jacket he brought from upstairs and picking up his overcoat and scarves from the hanger by the front door. Gerard spots the dogs in their usual position when someone’s leaving, sitting by the stairs with their tails wiggling on the floor, but then he turns back to Frank. “I mean it. I’ll come home for lunch and then we’ll decide. If you’re still feeling good and, if it’s not as cold as now, I’ll let you go to work.”

“But you need me there while you’re at the meeting!” Frank protests, tying a knot in his first scarf and wrapping a second one around the back of his neck.

“Frank… Remember last year?” Gerard slumps his shoulders, honestly concerned about the trembling on Frank’s lips. He can’t bother to worry about work or any kind of meeting when Frank might get worse if he goes outside. Gerard wants to have a quiet Christmas season this year, not spend it in between hospital wards. Frank ought to understand.

“Fine! I’ll stay home, you _annoying_ old man. But only until lunch time.” Gerard sighs in relief, even though Frank rolls his eyes at him.

He nods and pulls Frank close for a hug, leaving a prolonged kiss on his temple and whispering a thank you against his forehead. Frank protests and struggles playfully against his grip, but Gerard calms him down by saying, “I promise. Only until lunch.”

*

_December 17_

Gerard gazes at Frank proudly. He looks so good, so healthy and happy, and that’s a wonderful fact after a month of feeling like shit. Frank went through some harsh moments, but thankfully it’s over now. They just have to be careful so he doesn’t relapse and it’s definitely the most important phase of his recovery. Gerard is going to do everything he can to keep Frank free from any sickness, even from a common sore throat, at least until New Year’s Eve.

For now, he just basks in the idea of being out for lunch on a Saturday, a week before Christmas. He already got presents for everybody, as he does so early in December to avoid the mass hysteria of shoppers doing their late Christmas shopping, but he’s excited about finally being able to get Frank out of the house. And Frank looks excited too.

“So are you gonna tell me or not?” Frank asks on their way out of the restaurant. He loops his arm around Gerard’s and lays his head against Gerard’s shoulder. He’s so small compared to Gerard, in age, height, weight and everything else, and that’s freaking adorable. Not to mention how cute he looks when he’s asking Gerard about what he bought Frank for Christmas again and again.

Gerard just chuckles at his insistence and at his broad smile. This question has surfaced every day since last week, when Gerard got home and was caught hiding the bags with his Christmas presents on top of their kitchen cabinet, and his reply is always the same. “How many times are you gonna ask me that?”

“As many times as needed!” Frank giggles and pinches Gerard’s forearm, making Gerard complain with a high-pitched, exaggerated sound but they laugh together. “I just won’t climb up a chair and check the bag myself because I respect you.”

They get to their car in the parking lot and get in, Gerard still smiling at Frank’s anticipation, at least until he asks, “What did you get for the puppies?”

“Who says I did?” Gerard laughs for real this time, open-mouthed and animated.

Frank blinks at him, looking shocked and seriously offended. “Are you serious? You didn’t get anything for the dogs?”

Gerard only hums in response and starts the car, seeing through the corner of his eye how Frank is frowning in disapproval and crossing his arms. “You can’t do that. Just because they’re dogs doesn’t mean they don’t have feelings. No wonder they don’t like you as the feeling is mutual!”

“No Frank, I like them, but they’re annoying most of the time. And so are you, by the way.”

Frank makes a strangled noise like he’s upset and Gerard chuckles to himself. He’s just joking around, teasing Frank because he doesn’t really want to buy anything on his own as he knew Frank would want to go by the story today. He just really likes seeing Frank get frustrated at him.

“Don’t even think about going home without at least buying something for them,” Frank says harshly. When Gerard looks to the side, he has a deep frown on his forehead and a killer look in his eyes. He means that as a threat of some kind. “Those puppies have to deal with your grumpiness every day, dammit.”

“I’m not grumpy,” Gerard retaliates, knowing perfectly well that he yells at Frank a lot regarding anything the puppies have done. It’s not his fault, though. Frank spoils them a lot and Gerard is just decent enough to correct that, but of course Frank doesn’t agree. He just humphs and looks at Gerard like he’s pissed, but he’s just too cute for Gerard to take him too seriously.

Gerard is in the collars aisle trying to choose a cute design for their puppies, but he can’t decide. This is just too hard. His favorite models are the black and red collars, the black one with a rhinestone pattern and the blue collars that they can customize with the dogs’ names. This has to be his choice; they decided just now on the ride here that Gerard should get collars while Frank would find something else, but he’d never thought this would be so difficult.

He tries to find Frank in an aisle nearby to ask him his opinion, but he’s probably going way over his head with this excitement over the puppies’ first Christmas and throwing numerous items into a basket. This makes Gerard chuckle to himself since he will have to veto the crazy amount of choices Frank must have made. Gerard just goes to find him so he can curb Frank’s enthusiasm before it’s too late and they end up spending a lot of money at the store.

Gerard finds him in the clothing aisle, but panics because Frank is holding a small pile of stuff on the curve of his arm. “Frank, don’t even think about it.”

Frank just rolls his eyes and looks at Gerard with a mocking expression, but then his eyes change to a look that suggests that he’s up to something. “They’re still on sale, so I’m buying seven of them this time.” He shows Gerard the items on his arm, mostly Christmas sweaters in red and green colors, but also some black ones, and Gerard frowns. He highly disapproves of this.

“Frank, no. The dogs didn’t even like the ones we got last month, so what’s the point?” With a sigh, Gerard looks in between Frank and the racks filled with dog clothing. They’re tiny, sweet, and quite charming, but he doesn’t understand why Frank needs to buy sweaters for the puppies.

The last time Frank tried to dress them up in clothing, the little outfits ended up kind of ripped apart under the kitchen table. At least Zink’s, while Patch never made it out of his; the garment got stuck in his head and when Gerard came home that day, Patch had a terrible rash around his neck. That’s why Gerard doesn’t get the appeal of buying new ones and he tells Frank this.

“Well, it’s Christmas and it’s gonna be a cold season. You heard the news too, G,” Frank replies like he’s worried. His voice is almost petulant and he’s honestly just trying to disarm Gerard with his semi-pout, but that hasn’t really worked lately. Frank’s expression doesn’t change one bit, his big puppy eyes and his hand squeezing Gerard’s, trying to be convincing. “Not to mention that the ones we got last month no longer exist, right? They’re gonna need these.”

Gerard sighs, not feeling in the mood for another tantrum in public over dog clothing. “No. They still have an outfit at home and that’s all they will ever need. Don’t bother looking at me like that, Frank. Just put that down.”

As he waits for Frank to obey, Gerard observes his defiant face. If Gerard insists in prolonging this, Frank is most likely going to turn it into another embarrassing scene and he’s mature enough to think things through. That’s why Gerard doesn’t say anything else. He just turns around and leaves Frank there to decide on his own. He’ll make the wisest choice for sure. Gerard trusts him.

Later, they meet up in the toys aisle and Gerard takes a swift look at Frank’s arms to see that he’s not carrying anything, but he does have a defeated look in his eyes. Gerard watches him attentively while they browse through the toys, telling Frank as sweetly as he can that they could maybe buy a couple of toys because the dogs will certainly enjoy them now. Frank remains unenthusiastic the whole time, even though Gerard picks up and shows him a few fun items like squeaky chew toys in cute shapes, rope bones and flying disks for when it’s not raining or snowing and they can play in the backyard.

In the end, leaving Frank in line for the check out with a disappointed face and a frown upon his brow, Gerard sighs and heads back down the aisles. He’s getting a couple of special items. He hates seeing Frank like that; Gerard loves Frank’s smile, with that gorgeous glow on his face and so breathtakingly beautiful, and he knows that what he intends to buy will cause a positive reaction on Frank. In fact, when he sees that Gerard adds two identical Christmas sweaters, in red wool with a golden reindeer on the back, to the cart, Frank reacts. He looks up and blinks at first, but then he shows Gerard a warmhearted smile, getting on his toes to kiss Gerard’s cheek tenderly.

“You’re too sweet,” he says, caressing the woolly material of the sweaters and placing his head against Gerard’s chest. Frank leans onto him while Gerard rubs the back of his head, smiling down at him and pecking his lips.

Wrapping an arm around Frank’s shoulders and leaving a tender kiss on his temple, Gerard realizes that he will never win any battles with Frank. Never. He has too much of a soft spot for Frank, but he doesn’t mind because Frank deserves it. He deserves everything; every single one of his desires should be granted. Just this thought makes Gerard smile to himself, hoping that Frank is happy too.

*

_December 25_

Gerard wakes up with Frank pressed against his back. Last night they fell asleep late after a very cheery Christmas dinner at Gerard’s parents’ house, as his mother has been recovering really well from her recent sickness. He looks at the clock on his nightstand with difficulty, because his eyes are too heavy and in fact, it’s too early. It’s not even nine a.m.. Gerard just grunts, not having expected to wake up at this time on Christmas morning, and buries his face into the comforter. It’s so warm like this.

Frank’s shape against his backside is comforting, at least until Gerard feels tiny kisses being pressed against his neck and shoulder, and then there’s a mouth on his ear and of course, Frank’s crotch against his ass. And Frank is–

“You’d better put that away,” Gerard croaks, regarding Frank’s obvious morning wood. Usually, Gerard wouldn’t refuse this kind of offer, but he treasures his sleep in the mornings when he doesn’t have to go to work. It might be Christmas, but they have a long day ahead of them, so they shouldn’t be awake so early. Frank insists, though, adding a humming to his kisses and a few thrusts against Gerard, sliding a hand across Gerard’s side, stomach and chest. “It’s too early, dammit.”

“It’s never too early for sex,” Frank says before he kisses the back of Gerard’s neck, tenderly, while rubbing Gerard’s chest with his open palm. Gerard grunts again and pulls the comforter over his head. He tries to put Frank’s hand away, but Frank moves it to Gerard’s crotch and mutters, “Maybe just a blowjob?”

“Frank, stop.” Frank doesn’t stop, of course. He fondles Gerard’s cock through his underwear, thrusts just a little harder and moans in Gerard’s ear. Gerard tries to protest, but he’s too sensitive when it comes to his morning wood, so he gasps.

“A handjob?” is Frank’s final offer that Gerard decides to take. He rolls over onto his back, grabs Frank by the back of his head and kisses him hard on the mouth. He always thought this was the best sex anyway, while they’re still groggy and warm, his sleep clogged mind heightening every feeling, so he kisses Frank fiercely. Moving his other hand to Frank’s cock, Gerard pulls him close and feels him up, feels how hard he is.

Frank rolls his tongue and grabs a hold of Gerard’s cock all of a sudden, making him jerk forward and cant his hips up at the warm, familiar feeling. Frank knows just where to touch, where to press and squeeze and just like this, in a cold, quiet Christmas morning, they jerk each other off slowly.

For now, Gerard strokes Frank’s dick, kisses Frank’s mouth in a tender moment and suddenly Frank thrusts into his fist and Gerard knows. He knows and he feels Frank coming, because he always shakes with it and stops every other movement, just letting Gerard take care of him.

“Just let it go,” Gerard tells him when the kiss ends, speaking with a voice that’s hoarse from sleep and the way his stomach is boiling. He holds Frank tightly with one hand on his lower back and then, Frank’s come falls hot on Gerard’s fist and over his hip. Frank takes tiny gasps repeatedly until he’s spent and collapses on top of Gerard. He lies there panting for a while, Gerard caressing his skin under his sweater until Frank stops shivering and hums in his bliss. He’s beautiful just like this, delighted and boneless.

Frank stays like that for a while, his head on Gerard’s chest, Gerard’s hand on the small of his back, but he goes back to fisting Gerard’s cock. He moves his hand softly and the pressure is barely there, but Gerard feels really good. He doesn’t regret having been woken up early after all. Frank starts giggling for some reason and Gerard stops caressing his back, opening his eyes at last and seeing that Frank isn’t only focused on jerking him off. He’s looking at the foot of the bed and of course, the dogs are over there. He groans. “Frank, you gotta be kidding me.”

“What?” Frank giggles, placing a kiss on Gerard’s chest before he resumes his strokes. Gerard stops him, however, and lifts Frank’s hand up and away from him.

“It’s Christmas, G. I couldn’t let them sleep anywhere else!” Frank says, pulling his lowered underwear back on.

Gerard can’t believe Frank let the dogs sleep on the bed again after weeks of struggling through basic training with them. The puppies have been respecting their potty train schedule for weeks, have been sleeping on their bed too, they recognize when Gerard is mad at them, and totally know the difference between Frank and Gerard’s voices. Now Frank is allowing them exceptions and breaking the rules that they have set.

Gerard rolls his eyes and pulls his boxers over his crotch when Frank giggles and leans in the puppies’ direction. He calls for them and says, “Come here, babies. Come give me kisses.”

Gerard just rolls his eyes because this is ridiculous. He knows that the dogs will obey everything Frank asks of them, which wouldn’t happen if it was Gerard calling, and shakes his head again when the pups run to Frank’s lap. They’re 100% spoiled and that’s that. They yip happily and lick Frank’s face gladly, and Frank is laughing and kissing them back on their wet noses, but then he stops and turns to Gerard with a huge, bright, Christmas-y grin.

“What?” Gerard asks a little suspiciously at the impish look on Frank’s face.

“Go!” It’s all Frank says and Gerard frowns because he doesn’t understand what’s going on, at least until the puppies yip loudly, tongues lolling as they run towards him. They jump on his chest, trying to get to his face and lick him anywhere while he struggles against them. He also feels Frank straddling his hips and tickling his sides, so he has to fight against Frank too, but there’s only so much he can do.

He laughs out loud and says breathlessly, “Stop it. Get off of me, all of you.”

His mouth is open when Patch jumps on him and suddenly Gerard has a mouthful of dog, which is not very tasty. Not being able to fight any more, since Frank is tickling him, Gerard grabs the white pup around his belly and growls against it. The dog’s yips are very cute, and he’s growling and nibbling on Gerard’s fingers to make him stop, and Zink is yipping loudly while Frank tickles Gerard and giggles nonstop.

It turns out to be a great Christmas morning and they end up wrestling each other on the bed, men and dogs.

*

After breakfast, they go to the living room to open the presents. There are gifts for everyone, and Frank is pretty excited. They leave their own presents for later since Frank is so eager to see the dogs’ reaction to what they bought. Gerard is excited too and it’s gratifying to see the pups jumping up and down, trying to climb up Frank’s legs to get to the wrapped up boxes.

First, Frank lets them thrash the colorful paper to reveal the presents he chose. It’s a bunch of toys, including chew toys that squeak, including a purple octopus for Patch, chosen by Gerard, and a green snake for Zink, and also a couple of balls and a flying disk. It’s awesome. Patch gets kind of scared of his octopus when he jumps on it and it squeaks loudly in response, and for a moment the pup keeps his distance and yips at the toy, but it doesn’t take too long until they’re all playing around in the living room, Frank playing fetch with Zink and Gerard teasing Patch about the squeaky rubber toy.

After a while, Gerard decides to get his own bag of goodies and shows Frank the collars he chose. They’re black and shiny, and the dogs’ names are plastered to it in rhinestone and there is also a tiny skull after each name. They’re pretty cute and Frank coos at them, pecking Gerard’s cheek amorously in a thankful gesture. The dogs love them too apparently because they sit down when Frank tells them to and they stay very still while he clasps the items around their necks. It’s like they know that this is important. And they look so amazing with them on, the rhinestones gleaming like their eyes and the black standing out on their fur.

The morning tirade doesn’t end until Frank remembers that there’s something else for the puppies. The grin on his face and the enthusiasm around the room reminds Gerard of what a curious family they are and he’s just proud that he gets to exchange Christmas presents with Frank, Patch and Zink. It’s wonderful.

He rolls his eyes and chuckles when he sees what Frank is talking about. He went to get the bag with the Christmas sweaters they bought. Gerard can’t help but remember exactly what happened the first time they tried to put any garments on the dogs.

He was sitting in the living room typing up notes on his laptop for the following day at work. They had just finished dinner and Frank went to the bathroom, and suddenly Gerard could only hear the puppies growling. Gerard looked up and saw that Zink had already slipped out of his sweater somehow, but it might have been because he was so tiny compared to it. And then Patch was struggling with his, trying to catch it with his teeth, so Zink apparently set himself to help him out and in the end, both sweaters were discarded by the armchair. As for the dogs, they just took off happily, shaking themselves and yipping away to do whatever. It was so cute.

Gerard remembers laughing to himself and waiting for Frank to freak out, and remembers that Frank was pretty shocked at seeing the discarded outfits, and can never forget how Frank blamed him for that. He’d said, “I know you did it, Gerard. Don’t bother trying to make up excuses for it.”

Gerard said nothing and laughed harder at the piqued expression on Frank’s face.

He laughs again right now because this is probably the best Christmas morning he’s ever had. Frank hands him the tiny garments as the dogs start walking backwards and yipping menacingly, and Frank coos at them and calls them his babies, but the pups don’t fall for it. They know exactly what Frank wants to do to them; they must have seen the sweaters and now they run away to the kitchen. They pass by Frank and he tries to grab them, but they’re just too fast. Frank goes after them of course, clapping his hands happily and trying to tempt them with promises of food and their bed for a week. Gerard, wisely, chooses to stay away from the scene.

He’s definitely enthralled by this moment, Frank chasing the dogs as they run away from him and his obsession with sweaters. They always hated clothes, but Frank still tries his best to get them to wear the sweaters. He’s just too damn stubborn. He walks around the whole house chasing the dogs as Gerard watches from afar, chuckling at Frank’s determination. It’s fucking adorable.


End file.
